"Lecture to Overly Gifted Students"

College Confidential Community
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<p>I was Googleing around and found the following article…
<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/sforres1/micro/gifted.html[/url]”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/sforres1/micro/gifted.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I think it addresses the famous question of being a “jack of all trades, but master of none”, especially when one has to choose what one has to specialize at (at university).</p>

<p>Yet, if we look back in history, there have been many polymaths. One of the most famous examples is Leonardo Da Vinci.</p>

<p>Can human beings today still be polymaths like him?</p>

<p>Or are we doomed to be pieces that wouldn’t function if not inside the frame of a greater society?</p>

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<p>well…its also swarthmore. They are very much into “specifics.” We toured there and talked to a senior psych major. My mother has a PhD in psychology and the student had never heard of some of the most famous experiments and psych people that all psych majors should know. he only knew those in his “area” of psych</p>

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<p>Yes, one can still be a polymath. However, it’s much harder to be an authority in many fields today because of the sheer amount of information available to us.</p>

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<p>good point!</p>

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<p>I’m sure it is possible but you have to remember that in Da Vinci’s time, most people were idiots by today’s standards. A B student with a basic public school ninth grade education would’ve been a polymath in those times. These days, you’d be hard pressed to find someone that’s a world renowned expert in more than one field. The amount of information we have on a single subject like physics, probably exceeds all knowledge the entire world had on everything back in during the 16th and 17th centuries.</p>

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<p>Wow, people like me exist!
I’m interested in hearing from current college students or from adults about how they were able to decide on a focus. I have a fair number of strengths and I think I can succeed in a lot of different majors (I know I’m not unique in this at all). How do you decide? I’ve ruled out math, science, and technology-related fields…but that leaves me with so many choices! Any suggestions for multi-talented or intellectually unfocused people? I’m not calling myself “overly gifted” or a “polymath.” I’m just good at humanities-related things and am having trouble deciding which to pick for a major. It seems like if I make a choice I’ll be doing it on a whim…how do I know for sure it’s the right choice?</p>